Second Generation: Return to AlRevis
by Molenar CS
Summary: currently rewriting this one to better meet my wants for the story.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue, Life at Home

Alrigt the story is following the Nikki ending from the first Mana Khemia, Spoilers for the ending are here and if that is a problem for you then dont read this, also I wrote the story to give enough information for those who have not played the games too. I hope you enjoy this re rendition of my story.

MMkay I have rewritten this story to have it better to my liking, please R&R.

Chapter 1

This is a story of a world unlike the one you know. In this world alchemy is the major practice in place of typical science. It can create magnificent objects that would seem far out of place in our world. The powers of an alchemist can be boosted by creatures known as Mana, which are physical representations of power and energy. Without the mana in the world alchemy would not be possible. Alchemy has world laws governing its use and teaching. The place of learning alchemy is Al- Revis academy. In this illustrious school, students are housed and required to stay until graduation. This is to prevent the misuse of their knowledge. The students are also trained in combat for their own protection from those who would try to use them for their abilities, and for gathering the resources required for many of their alchemical creations. The tale begins after a long night in the Aurelius household, in the early hours of morning. As an old acquaintance of the family moves ever closer to them from lands far away.

"Slowly...quiet." a feminine voice comes from the dark. "Its dark so be careful" replies a deep calm voice as a glimmer of silver flashes, standing out in the darkness. "I know. And its finally quiet." the girls voice comes again as the two creep through the room. A loud thud and then crying from an infant breaks the relative quiet of the room for another time. The lights come on as the man clad in black reaches the wall.

"Oops" the now visible girl squeaks, her large furry ears drooping beside her flowing golden blonde locks, the ears size and shape are like that of the middle three tips of a maple leaf, with blondish tan fur on them and white tufts showing from the inner ear. she picks up the child in her arms and cradles it against her white dress stuttering "aw uh eh, please don't cry" her tail sticking straight up in the air behind her, a large tuft of light tan fur at the end of it. As the baby continues to cry the other three children begin to stir. The eldest a boy with silver hair to match his fathers, is the first to speak "whats going on?" as he does he stands and stretches his arms above his blue t-shirt sticking his tongue halfway out and yawning, with his fuzzy ears, still to big for his head, folded back against his hair. As his tail swishes back and forth behind his red shorts it is pushed aside by the hand of another, the girl sits up behind the boy and goes through similar stretching movements she has Golden hair to match her mother but like her brother her ears are yet too big for her head and tail seems to have a mind of its own moving erraticly behind her "Huuhhmm, is he crying again" she says with an obvious tone of annoyance to her soft little voice.

"Daddy where are you going" another boy, younger still than the other, piped in as he too got out of bed.

"Nikki, Honey." the man in black said turning to the blonde woman.

"s~sorry Vayne" she said Looking back at him with a strained look on her face, Holding the youngest girl in her arms, still wrapped in a blanket. As she was looking at Vayne she noticed the older of the two boys charging towards him from behind. The boy charged and grabbed Vayne's arm with a thud, "Unn, I'm awake now Daddy come play with me" he said hanging, and dangling from the arm.

"Me too" squeaked the older of the girls now dawning a baggy red shirt with white cuffs, and matching pants. "Uh honey sing them another lullaby." Vayne said straining from the weight of the boy on his arm and setting him down gently on the floor.

Nikki turns to Vayne and hands him the baby to hold as her hands go to her throat. "But, I sang all day My throat hurts." she said with a slightly hoarse voice as the baby started to cry again. Vayne grabs a bottle from the counter and places the tip into the child's mouth, she sucks on it hungrily.

"sigh we haven't had any time to ourselves in so long." he said walking toward the baby's cradle and placing the child in the nest-like pile of blankets tucking her in softly. Nikki turns to him now the girl on one of her arms the younger boy on her shirttail and the older, hanging on her other arm

"I said I'm sorry." Nikki says, straining to stay upright against her children pulling on her.

"Daddy."the oldest Boy says switching from Nikki's arm to Vayne's. The girl squeezes her mothers arm tighter and squeals saying "Mommy."

Vayne looks to the boy hanging from his arm and smiles "okay okay alright, we'll play Max" with his same smile looking to Nikki he says "It doesn't look like we'll get that anytime soon." Max pulls harder on Vayne's arm, and Vayne topples to the floor with a thud, Nikki walks over to him and helps him to his feet patting him on the head. She plants a kiss on his lips and the children all cringe simultaneously. With a smile her ears perk up and she says "Yeah not until these kids grow up more." Vayne sighs as he looks toward the window, noticing the first rays of dawn creeping over the horizon.

Vayne gestures to Max to follow him outside the bedroom and he obliges following his father outside. On the way out of the house Vayne pauses at a small maple wooden table with two, onyx black gauntlets on it. He crouches down and looks under the table, there is a large ashen colored pillow with a jet black cat sleeping on it contently. Vayne reaches down and pets the cat gently behind the ears "hello, good morning Sulpher. How are you today?" the cat yawns and looks up at Vayne lazily then puts its head back down onto the pillow and starts snoring. "Hm, I guess its too early for you huh Sulpher, sleep well old friend." Vayne stands back up and looks over at Max who is sliding his hand down the flat of the blade on the gauntlet. "daddy lets go play." now touching the bladed fingers on the second gauntlet, he turns toward his favorite weapon hanging on the wall opposite from them, and smiles.

Meanwhile Nikki is dealing with the other children, the baby has gone to sleep as has the younger boy but the girl is still pestering Nikki "Mommy lets go make something." Nikki walks over to her daughter and rubs her hair around "Now Mimi you know that you can't do Alchemy, Not until you go to school. It's the law after all." But mommy I'm supposed to start school next month. Why can't I try now." Nikki smiles at Mimi and walks toward the door. "Come on now Mimi, I have an idea, lets go out to the woods and visit an old friend of mine." Mimi gets a confused look on her face. "What do you mean mommy, Old friend in the woods? Who is it? Huh huh." Mimi has a massive smile in anticipation of meeting someone new. As she smiles she reveals slightly oversized K9s in the corners of her mouth. They head out the back door together and go towards the woods.

Out in front of their country house, Vayne and Max are now sparring. Vayne Has his Gauntlets on, their blades are Glistening in the morning sun. the giant crystalline eye in the center seems to follow your movements by the way the light refracts through them. Max is standing opposite Vayne holding a wide bladed great-sword, the dark finish on the blade reflects the suns rays like a prism, lots of color shine from the edges of the four foot blade. Vayne beckons Max, "lets see how you're doing, come on." Max charges Vayne and swings the blade down at him, he quickly blocks it with the edged fingers in his left gauntlet and just as fast brings the blade in his right to a stop next to Max's head.

Max jumps back and charges again, they exchange blow after blow blocking each others strikes time and again. Finally as they are both breathing heavily and sweating from their workout Max steps back and lets the back of the sword in his hand come to rest across his shoulders. "got me again dad. I'm just not good enough at this yet'" He sighs and sits down laying the sword next to him. Vayne removes his gauntlets and walks over to Max's side sitting next to him.

"Max, you definitely have your mothers strength, I could barely stop those blows." Max looks over at Vayne and smiles

"Yeah but you were still way faster than me" Vayne chuckles at Max's comment

"I may be fast, but I trained with someone much more skilled than anyone you have met yet." they both lay back and catch their breath. Then Vayne hears a familiar voice come from somewhere nearby. "Ohhohoho Well it seems that you haven't lost your touch old friend" Vayne sits up and turns toward the tree across the yard from them.

"I was wondering when you would say something, oh hero of Justice." with added sarcasm after hero. as Vayne speaks a large man with bright red hair comes out from the tree and lands in front of them both. "how are things here, my old sidekick."

Deep in the forest Nikki and Mimi are wandering down a small animal trail. Nikki has her old school uniform on a blue armored skirt slightly revealing top with partial detached sleeves, leather Elbow length fingerless gloves with matching headband, and large gold colored bracelets. She has a large hammer like object with two giant steel balls attached to the end of it swung over her shoulder nonchalantly as she walks along through the trees, the shaft of the hammers handle is long and narrow combined with the iron ball head the weapon is about six feet long. The pads of her sandals on her furry feet crunching the leaves beneath them as they walk along. Mimi has a Similar colored outfit on, though hers is less revealing, still with the detached sleeves but her torso is covered completely, and the skirt on hers comes down to her knees. "Mommy where are we going?" Mimi says as she jumps over a large root sticking out from the ground in her path. Nikki turns to her daughter and smiles

"It's going to be a surprise." She turns and continues to walk, throwing her long legs out in front of her with each step as she strides along. Mimi struggles to get through some of the shrubbery though they seem to open up a path for her mother.

Mimi watches closely and notices that the plants do actually move from Nikki's path, only to move back before Mimi can get through. "Mommy the plants don't like me here. They are all getting in my way." Nikki laughs a little

"well then knock them out of your way. Here" Nikki turns and hands Mimi the Gargantuan hammer, not realizing how much bigger in comparison with her daughter than herself the weapon is. As Mimi grabs the hammer from Nikki she struggles to keep it upright, then it topples over backwards, leaving the hammer half buried in the ground with Mimi laying next to it. With them side by side the hammer is a few feet longer than she is tall. Nikki reaches down and grabs the handle with one hand and Mimi with the other, Lifting both effortlessly. "Guess this one wont do it for ya huh kiddo." Mimi regains her footing and starts to pick leaves and dirt from her blond hair as she follows her Mother through the trees.

Back at the house Vayne and Max both are staring at the red haired man before them. He towers above both of them standing next to the tree, Max studies his appearance with obvious curiosity, he wears a long white scarf with black armor beneath, his long red hair is brushed back into a bushy ponytail. He has a scar across his nose beneath his eyes, and clenched in his teeth is a long shafted glass pipe. Its clear from both his build, and the massive mechanical sword behind him that he is incredibly strong, but it's difficult to judge the extent of that strength. Vayne stands, dusts off his black shirt and jeans, then turns to face the man. Vayne looks deep into the mans red eyes as they stare each other down. "You still haven't lost your skill I see." says the red haired man as he steps forward and slaps Vayne on the back, Vayne stumbles forward from the strength of the blow catching his balance before he hits the ground.

"Daddy do you know who this man is?" Max asks from the ground, staring at the giant sword with his ears and tail both twitching in excitement.

"This is Flay, an old friend of mine from school, one of the strong ones I trained with" as Vayne tells him Flay approaches Max, closing the gap between them quickly with his long legs. The red haired man puts his hand out towards Max

"Flay Gunnar, Nice to meet you son of Vayne." Max grabs Flays hand and pulls himself up.

"My name is Max Theofratus Aurelius, nice to meet you sir." their hands part and Flay looks curiously at Max's ears and Tail. Turning to Vayne chuckling

"So you must have had some fun with Nicole then eh, how is she these days." Vayne blushes at Flay's "fun" comment and his palm hits his forehead.

"She is fine Flay, but watch the comments in front of the kid, okay?" Flay just shrugs and empties his pipe, tapping the shaft with his hand dropping little bits of ash from the bowl.

He reaches into his pocket pulling a small ball of green substance and packing it neatly into the pipe, lighting it with a match and taking a puff, it gives the aroma of blueberries. "Vayne we both know the potential here, so I came to check things out with your kids, To see if they are _worthy_ of Al-Revis. Where is Nikki by the way, I don't sense her nearby." Vayne picks up his gauntlets and Max's sword and starts back toward the house.

"She has taken our daughter Mimi into the woods, for a Surprise." Flay's eyes light up at the comment "If its what I'm thinking it is... if so shouldn't you go too Vayne?" Flay starts toward the house following Vayne and Max follows Flay, staring at the sword on his back.

"Come on Flay, you know Nikki, she can handle herself and Mimi both. Its for Mimi's own good anyway." they enter the home and Vayne leads Flay down the hall into a large white walled room. Vayne sits in a large blue and black recliner chair, he gestures to Flay to sit on the large leather sofa. Flay sits and the furniture creaks under his weight,

"I suppose you are right Vayne, we'll have to wait and see what happens. I would go watch myself but, well."

Vayne interjects "But Nikki would clock you something good for spying on her." Flay nodded and rubs at the back of his head. "Would you like a drink while you are here Flay" Vayne says standing from his chair.

"Certainly, old friend." Flay said rising from his spot and following Vayne to the next room. Vayne's kitchen has a stove in the corner with a refrigerator beside it and pans of various shapes and sizes along one wall, the opposite wall has an alchemy cauldron in the center of the wall with tools of the trade mounted on hooks and numerous bottles and vials on the shelves containing ingredients for synthesis. Vayne walks over to the fridge and looks around inside, Flay looking over his shoulder. "Would you mind breaking out this?" Flay says pointing towards a ornate bottle covered with white ribbon.

"Hmm I suppose we could,though we better leave some for Nikki too." Vayne says, grabbing the bottle

Mimi is following Nikki deeper and deeper into the woods and the underbrush around them is getting thicker and more green as they go along. They both had remained quiet for a while now so Mimi decided to break the silence "Come on, how much farther do we need to go here?" she whines , as she speaks they come to a clearing, its a large circular area and both Nikki and Mimi stand in awe of the beauty. The entire clearing is filled with flowers of all kinds and colors, every inch of the field visible in the clearing is covered by different colors of flowers, Azure blossoms, crimson and gold roses line the edges of the field, climbing the luscious old oaks that surround the area. Pearl white patches of flowers resembling lilies are everywhere offset by Violets doting the clearing alongside towers of foxglove and daffodils. They walk through a small path of rich soft emerald grass as Nikki leads Mimi toward the center of the field. As they approach Mimi notices something she hadn't before, in the center there is large brown shiny object, as they approach the object seems to be a giant acorn, bigger around than most trees.

They approach the acorn, and on the other side is a small boy who, by size and appearance, looked to be be about five years old, he is rubbing the giant acorn with a small cloth, carefully polishing it. He is only about two feet tall not noticing he is being watched, he is clad in all green with a small yellow star on his shirt and twin points tipped with gold on his hat. Mimi could feel his very presence and power. Nikki approached the child and patted him on the head, to Mimi's surprise. The boy looked up with a start at Nikki then spotted Mimi. Standing he is still shorter than the four foot five Mimi but the acorn next to him came close to her height. He looked back to Nikki and she nodded to him, he then turned to Mimi and spoke"Hewo, I'n woob Mana"

Nikki petted his head and softly said "That's supposed to have been Wood mana, geez we practiced and everything." she sighs and looks toward Mimi "This is my Mana of wood, he has some speech issues sometimes, more often with strangers cause he gets nervous. But he will get better over time, anyway this is why I brought you out here. His name is Norn, though you wouldn't believe how long it took to find that out." Mimi looks stunned for a moment then charges the little Mana boy hugging him, her ears twitching in excitement.

"Soo cute, mommy why were you keeping this guy way out here?" Nikki smiles and grabs her daughter's hand pulling to loosen her grip on the mana

"Well he is a wood mana, but aside from that it would have ruined the surprise if he was at the house." Mimi looks up at her mother with confusion on her face

"surprise? What do you mean?" she releases the mana to pay attention to her mother. Nikki clears her throat

"Well little guy, I hereby transfer my contract with you to my daughter Mimi Tithel Aurelius. You are now her Mana, guard her well my friend" The mana boy salutes Nikki then turns to Mimi and salutes her

"you now holb my contwact Mimi. And~" A hug from Mimi cuts off the rest of what he is saying as she squeezed him and squealed in delight, her ears and tail both now twitching in delight.

"Thanks mom, I'll take good care of him." Nikki smiled, her tail swishing behind her, the three of them turn and head back toward the house, Norn goes to the acorn and lifts it onto his back, fastening it to him with a belt.

Max is sipping on a glass of orange juice while Vayne and Flay both hold glasses with twisted blue stems attaching their bases, while Vayne pours a glittering liquid from the Bottle covered with strange ribbons from the fridge. Flay sips a little then gulps down the contents of his glass "Ah, you still have skill with your alchemy I see."

Vayne smiles as he himself slurps down his second glass "Yes, though I have been saving this elixir for a while now." Flay gestures his glass for another fill and Vayne tips the bottle for him. Max looks puzzled at the liquid that Vayne and Flay are enjoying so.

"Dad can I have some of that?" he asks eying the bottle. Vayne looks at Flay and he at Max with an almost evil smile says.

"This is a man's drink, you have not yet shown you are worthy to drink it." Max looked puzzled at the comment from flay

"but~" The door slams open as Nikki comes strolling through. She yawns sticking her tongue, stretching her arms above her head, her tail goes out behind her and she glances over toward Vayne.

She spots Flay and every part of her seems to go rigid, a glimmer of light shines in her eyes and she charges him

"Flaya, what are you doing here?" she tackles him deeper into the couch with a grunt escaping from him as he tries to push her off. She sits on the floor cross legged in front of him looking intently at the glass still in his hand

"Hello Nikki, how have you been." he says rustling her hair with his free hand.

"Aww I want some of that too." staring intently at the glass with drool now forming in the corners of her mouth. Vayne hands her his own glass still filled with elixir, she slurps it down with incredible speed. Behind them Mimi is entering the room holding Norn tightly, the acorn visible outside the door . "Can't Bweathe" he whines and she loosens enough for it to get free and sit on the floor. She looks to the scene in front of her, parents and Flay all drinking and Max pouting on the couch eying their drink bottle.

"Can I have some?" she asks, trying to sound overly cute.

"You too huh?" Flay exclaims looking to her, "alright then its settled, Max and you um..."

"My name is Mimi." she says blushing in frustration.

"Right then, Max and Mimi since you both want some, how about a test of skill? We will see if you are worthy to drink Elixir yet. Come outside, I have something prepared for this situation anyway."

Vayne and Nikki exchange worried glances as the kids both follow Flay outside. "He wouldn't, would he?" Vayne says bewildered to Nikki, she shakes her head

"You bet he would, Come on, and grab some weapons too." she bolts after the kids grabbing her hammer and Norn on the way out the door, Vayne follows soon after with his gauntlets and Max's sword in tow. Outside Flay approaches the tree he was hiding within the branches of earlier, behind it he pulls out a large wooden box oozing blue and red slime through cracks in all sides. Nikki and Vayne arrive just and see Flay open a latch on the box, The side slams open and out pour numerous small creatures. They are dome shaped and appear to be made of some kind of gel, some are red while others are blue and all of them have black oval eyes adorning their faces above large, smiling, toothless mouths.

"Punipuni" the creatures begin to say looking around, seemingly shocked at their new surroundings. "Alright Punis, these two are your opponents." pointing toward the children. Max smiles and laughs "Punis, is that all you got?" Meanwhile Mimi is ogling the cuteness of the little punis. Vayne and Nikki both have their jaws drop,

"Punis!" both say in unison. Vayne hands the sword to Max, and the mana walks over to Mimi's side. Both of them get into battle postures, Max holding the sword in front of him and the mana pushes Mimi back knowing she has no weapon with which to defend herself.

"No interfering with your kids battle now." flay yells at both Nikki and Vayne, they exchange glances and step back to watch as the last of the Punis escape from the box. The punis form lines next to their comrades. Twenty of them now stand before the children, split evenly between red and blue. The punis start to shake, then all at once they charge both children.

"The Puni may only be up to your knees, but they jump when attacking and aim for the head." Flay yells as the mass of gelatin charges forward.

The first to get close to Max gets sliced clean through by his downward swing, another takes the opening and tags his shoulder with a passing blow leaving a bright blue stain on his black shirt, and in his silver hair. Aside from a stain and bruised ego, Max sustains no real damage. Norn raises his hands and gestures to the Puni charging towards them, roots fly out from the ground and slice the puni apart along with more from the group right behind it. Max surprised by this looks more towards his sibling fighting with the Mana by her side. As he stares another puni slams into his back, knocking him over and leaving a large bright red stain on his shirt. He throws the Puni off and starts to swing with more force at all those near him, slicing them with little effort. As the last puni charges Mimi the nearby tree launches the crate the punis emerged from at the puni, squashing it flat. Norn falls to the ground panting at the power he exerted moving the plants nearby. Mimi falls to her knees next to him. The two catch their breath as Max walks over to them.

"You alright Mimi?" he asks, putting his hand out to her. She grabs it and with his help stands again. "Why am I so tired too?" she asks panting and bent over. Nikki and Vayne walk over to their children and pat them both on the backs

"well done, both of you." Vayne says walking past them toward Flay.

"Mommy why am I so tired now?" Mimi asks looking at her mother. Nikki bends down to her level and places her hands on her daughters shoulders, looking her in the eyes.

"When you fight with a mana's powers it will drain the energy of the contract holder, not just that of the mana, only use him like that when you have to. Here drink this" she hands Mimi a glass full of the glittering elixir and she happily accepts it drinking it down. She feels her energy return immediately and stands upright, as she does a green glow comes over Norn and he gets up too. Vayne reaches Flays side as Flay begins to speak

"Well done, that is impressive for mere thirteen years old, don't you think so Vay~" A punch to the gut interrupts his speech and he looks down in surprise to see Max has charged him and planted a fist hard enough to wind him. Flay coughs and falls to the ground.

"Don't you endanger my sister like that again." Flay who is now at eye level with Max nods and lays back into the tree to catch his breath.

"Very impressive indeed" Flay thinks to himself, he then whistles and all of the chunks of puni laying around reconstitute, forming back to their original shapes, and slide back into the crate from which they emerged.

Vayne helps Flay back to his feet and they all head back indoors, leaving the weapons and the crate near the door by Norn's acorn, dripping colored slime on the ground near them. Vayne Max and Flay back on the couch, with Nikki on the floor and Mimi going to get water while Norn sits next to his old partner Nikki. Flay puts his glass on the table next to the couch then turns to address everyone else as Mimi returns

"Well, you both did well. Max, Mimi, you are hereby both accepted into Al-Revis. I will personally escort you to the school on behalf of your parents. After all you cannot leave the other children behind to travel right now can you?" Vayne and Nikki both nod in acceptance of the idea, then Vayne speaks "But Flay wont you need to get back there soon? I heard you are actually a teacher now." Flay stands and brushes the front of his armor off

"Well then I guess you two better pack fast then, and don't worry the train tickets are on me this time." Mimi responds with a simple "Okay" and rushes off to her room to pack.

Max smiles and turns to Vayne with hope in his face and asks "Will I get a mana like Mimi's, she got mom's old partner right, dad do you have a mana to give me?" Vayne looks pained and scratches at the top of his head.

"I didn't actually have a mana as a partner Max, I just had Sulpher while I was at school." Max gets a puzzled look on his face, doing math on his fingers and getting more confused as he does

"How is Sulpher that old, cats aren't supposed to live that long are they?" Vayne thinks to himself a little, trying to come up with a way to avoid the truth. That he was actually Sulpher's mana partner back then, and he had given an ordinary house cat an immortal body, before Vayne became a human that is. How he had crafted weapons modeled after the way he fought as a mana to keep the secret from those who were clueless to the truth.

"Well Sulpher is a special cat, he had a lot of exposure to alchemical materials, who knows he might live longer than you will Max." Max seems satisfied with the answer he is given though the confusions are still present.

"But I want a mana too, they are so cool." looking at Norn a glimmer appeared in his eyes. Nikki spots this and decides to give some words of comfort

"Sorry Max, I gave his contract to Mimi already, besides she needs help to protect herself. You on the other hand have combat skills with a weapon so, chill." she yawns and lays back onto the floor. Max looking disappointed goes to his room and starts packing.

Max and Mimi stand in the den next to their oversized luggage both suitcases as tall as their owners, hers a bright green matching the clothes of Norn, who is sitting atop the bag, and Max's a deep red matching the now dried blob of puni stuck to the back of his shirt. Flay stands from the couch and turns toward them,

"I hope you have everything you think you will need, because by law, you will not be able to come back until you graduate. As a favor to my old colleagues here I wont let that happen, not under my watch." they both nod. "Alright then, we are off soon. Get your final farewells in and meet me out front. Nikki kisses both of her children on their foreheads, parting Mimi's golden blonde hair to get a clear shot and Vayne hugs them both at once squeezing them both together. Norn goes to Mimi and shakes her hand for attention "I'b gonin to tha Mana worlt, call if you neeb me." Mimi's ears and tail stiffen

"what you're leaving?" she exclaims as he begins to fade in a glittering cloud and vanishes along with his acorn. Nikki sees the confusion on Mimi's face and pats her shoulder saying

"don't worry, he can come back if you just call him." Mimi nods and turns toward a sound from the bedroom. Their younger brother, who somehow managed to sleep through everything so far, comes from their room. His silver hair longer than Max and covering most of his face, he hugs them both

"bye Bro, Bye sis," he turns yawning and heads back to the bedroom, falling onto Max's bigger bed. Crying starts up from another room down the hall,

"Well its feeding time then, now where is that bottle?" Nikki goes off looking around for what the baby is surely craving and leaves Vayne to finish the goodbyes.

"Well guys I hope things work out well for you at school, Flay may seem, or be nuts, but he is dependable so if you need help there go to him." Vayne takes Max's shoulders in his hands and pulls him close, whispering in his ear.

"Max I'm sure you can find a mana somewhere at the school, its the center of alchemy after all." Vayne stands back and addresses them both

"Now come both of you its time to go." Vayne hugs them again and they start to drag their bags out to the front yard.

When they get outside there is a large beast next to Flay, it stands upright and has large wings, its very skin seems to resemble stone and it practically screamed power just looking at it. Flay just laughs at their reaction "Behold master Flay's mana partner. I defeated him in combat when I was in school." the kids both look in awe at the giant mana. The mana and flay both walk toward them, Flay picks up the kids bags and hands them to the Mana who places the straps from each bag over each shoulder, making it seem even bigger, it then speaks to them in a regal voice

"Worry not, I wont bite. Just climb onto My shoulders and you can ride to the station." Neither of the children wanting to refuse the grand Mana's offer they climb onto its shoulders as it stands tall. "Ready Flay?" it asks turning to its master. "Ready" he replies, and they both take off running down the road top speed. Max and Mimi holding to the mana's neck as it speeds along next to Flay running down the road. The trees and grass along the sides of the dirt road blur past them to fast to recognize the details. After a few minutes of this the dirt road fades into stone pavement going past them as a solid blur of gray slate as the town comes into view far into the ever shrinking distance.

Chapter 2 is already done so please leave a comment or review if you have anything to say about this story so far.


	2. Chapter 2: People Mana and Mischeif

Chapter 2

Flay and the mana slow down as they reach the edge of town, narrowly missing a man walking down the road in the opposite direction. The roads in town are smooth gray brick laid evenly between the buildings, smaller roads just wide enough for two carriages while the larger ones they are walking down are large enough for six. As they near the center of the town the buildings get larger than the one story crimson brick buildings they passed near the edge of town. Max's eyes widen with excitement as they arrive at the train station in town. The station is the largest building in the small town and dwarfs the small homes around it. The building is built of what looks like solid stone, dark tan color dominates the sides of the structure, the ceiling is a large glass dome visible from the inside, providing natural light to the entire interior. Flay comes up with a green metallic luggage cart, parking it next to his large mana. Max and Mimi both cautiously climb down its back using its wings as a step to lower themselves. They both take their bags from Flay, smiling. As they turn towards the train station Flay walks up behind the two of them unnoticed, standing between them he places his hands on their shoulders. Both of them jump and turn around to see who touched them. Flay lets out a laugh before addressing them.

"You are both well on your way to academia, and to get you there we will take this magnificent train." He gestures towards the back end of the station bringing their attention to the large train parked along the tracks there.

The train has a large engine car at the front with lots of shining copper decorations adorning the front and sides, many appear to be modeled after a snake biting its own tail in a figure eight pattern. The same symbol in the middle of the side of every passenger car that Max and Mimi can see. The train's engine is puffing a small amount of pale white smoke into the air, the smoke dissipates as a breeze coming down from the train's entrance catches it, blowing it away. "Flay" says Max "What is that snake thing?" pointing to the ornaments along the side of the train.

Flay pats Max on the shoulder and replies

"That is Uroborus, the snake of infinity, its an important symbol of alchemy. Oh and before I forget..." Flay then reaches into his pockets, after rummaging through them for a minute he pulls two crumpled pieces of paper and hands them to the children. "These are your tickets, keep them safe with you or else." They grab the papers from his hand and stuff them into their own pockets.

"Or else what?" Max asks as he turns and looks toward the train. Flay laughs again

"Or else you have a very long walk ahead of you." Max's hand immediately lands on his own forehead "And I was expecting something serious." he says muffled by his palm. With that Flay turns down the road and along with his mana, they both leave laughing, leaving Max and Mimi at the entrance of the station. The siblings watch Flay disappear, running down the road into the distance.

"He is just going to leave us here isn't he?" Mimi groans, as Flay completely vanishes from sight.

"Yup, it certainly looks that way." replies Max with clear annoyance in his tone. They both sigh and turn back toward the Station and start to drag their bags to the ticket counter. The counter has a thick glass window between the lobby where the kids are and the small person sitting behind it, the man looked to be in his sixties, with a small amount of white hair surrounding a large bald spot on his wrinkled head, his face had more wrinkles than their crumpled tickets from Flay's pocket and glasses that seem to make his eyes larger than normal when you look at them. The old man had a smile on his face as the siblings approached, "Well what can I help you young-ins with today?" he asked In a shaky soft voice.

"We have tickets for the train to Al-Revis." Mimi replies holding the small pieces of paper aloft. The man gestures to give him the tickets, Mimi gets closer and hands them to him through a slot in the bottom of the glass. The old man picks them up and looks them over carefully. Humming to himself. Then speaks

"hmm, yup these are the real deal alright. Going off to be alchemists are ye? Well good luck. Just take your baggage to the rear car on the train and the attendant will help you there." he hands the tickets back and points toward the entrance of the boarding area. Mimi grabs the tickets and both she and Max head to where he instructed.

When they enter the boarding area they look around at the crowd gathered there. There are many others present who appear around their age, many of which are already wearing the basic school type uniforms for Al-Revis, clad in mostly azure with gold or white trim at the cuffs and collar, a couple of them have more extravagant colors like burgundies and dahlia (a dark purple). The students within the station are of numerous different races, various beast-men, humans, and the assorted mana partners therein. Though many mana blend in with the crowd, a few mana present that are obviously mana are far from the appearance of humans. There is a mana that resembles a small rhino its back is flat and skin the color of granite, there are numerous spikes on its body aside from the horn on its nose. All of the spikes bear a resemblance to stalagmites, the one who appears to be its partner is wiping down its spines with a green cloth, making them all shiny. A young looking girl with brown hair dressed in burgundy has a very small mana perched on her shoulder who appears to be a small bird like a finch, engulfed in flame, yet it leaves no burn on her clothes or her long hair. Max begins to feel jealousy toward all those who have mana around him because he feels left out, when he realizes the feeling that has overcome him he starts to become angry at himself for having such resentment. "I will find my own mana at the school" Max thinks to himself, shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts.

They arrive at the luggage car and show the emerald uniformed man their tickets,

"Everything is in order then, I'll take care of these." he says gesturing to the bags on the cart behind them. Mimi and Max separate and wander around while they wait for the time to board the train, Mimi decides since so many others have them that she will also call her mana Norn to be with her here. "Norn will you come here please, oh and leave the acorn behind." she says out loud, then looks around at the ground. After a minute a cloud of glittering amber swirls around near her and out comes Norn. Mimi picks him up hugging him then puts him on her shoulders. "Hold on now okay." she says softly to him.

"Ohh kaayy." he replies in a tired tone.

The siblings wander through the station looking at all the faces of familiar and unknown faces alike. Max wanders through the crowd as Mimi stops and talks to a beast-man girl. She has Tiger striped tail and her ears are petite, as compared with Mimi and Max. She also has straight dark amber hair down to her waist. Behind the girl is a tall man clad in black with crimson trim on the simple outfit, his hair is a jet black and his eyes drew attention of anyone who see them as they are the color red of fresh blood, and seeming to glow even in broad daylight. As dark as he looks he has an aura of kindness about him that is only offset by the kind looking girl's aura next to him, hers seems to make those around her slightly uneasy. Mimi smiles as she approaches the pair standing off in the corner of the room. "Hey Kierta, how have you been lately?" Mimi says to the girl, exited to see a familiar face in the station with them. Kierta looks at Norn perching atop her head. She speaks to Mimi in an accent reminiscent of old British

"It has been years hasn't it Mimi, and who might this be?" Mimi sees where the golden eyes are pointing and remembers then whats there, reaching up and grasping Norn in both hands.

"This is Norn, he was my mother's wood mana, but she got him to change the contract to me, isn't he cute?" The dark man rests his elbows gently on Kierta's shoulders as Mimi meets his gaze. When she sees the red color she quickly reverts to staring into Kierta's eyes.

"What about you Kierta, who is your friend?" At this Kierta glances up at the head of the man which now came to a rest atop hers.

"This is my guardian mana, Tywyll, he is a shadow mana. Since I'm old enough I decided to go to Al-Revis." Tywyll smiles at hearing his companion's voice, looking at Mimi and Norn together his gaze meets with Norn's eyes and they seem to have an entire conversation without speaking, Tywyll stands up and then he and Norn both suddenly smile and start to laugh, Kierta's hand hits him squarely in the face with a loud smack. "I told you before not to leave me out of conversations, especially ones that are happening in front of me." He reaches up rubbing his face all the while still smiling at her, in a deep regal voice he simply says

"Sorry bout that." and that was all he needed to say, at his apology she turns and hugs him tightly burying her face in his shirt. She draws back looking at his smiling face

"I just can't stay mad at you can I?" still smiling he shakes his head

"Never could for long." Kierta quickly recomposes her emotions before turning back towards Mimi as the boarding whistle blows "Time to get on the train then, lets go shall we." and the four of them head off to the platform.

While all of this was happening, Max had wandered off in search of something of interest when he comes across a young human boy with brown hair in a pale blue school uniform standing between Max and a fancily dressed girl. However when Max comes closer he realizes there is something different about her. She has emerald green hair, her eyes shine green from the light overhead, and her skin is a pale blue. She is wearing what appears to be a two-piece bikini crafted from milky green chips of crystal, her feet have the same crystals, solid however, acting as shoes with high heels. Atop her head sticking out from her hair are two smooth red horn like appendages. Max approaches them and, in a soft voice, asks an obvious question "Miss, are you a mana?" The boy talking with her glares at Max from behind his glasses, when he sees this his ears and tail go limp and fall. Max turns and starts to walk away when he feels a cool touch on his shoulder, he immediately turns around to see the source of the sensation coming face to face with the Blue girl. He blushes and steps back from the smiling mana covering his face to hide the embarrassment.

"Yes I am a mana young one." comes in a soft voice, accompanied by a cool sensation on Max's hands covering his face. Soft pale blue fingers brush his hands away, Max again blushing as the girl is closer now than before. He realizes the air around her seems to be much cooler than everywhere else in the room. She smiles at him and coos in his ear "I am, a frost mana, you may call me Isa." Max, dumbfounded can only think to introduce himself

"My name is Max Theofratus Aurelius, nice to meet you." She sits floating midair before Max giggling "Theofratus, well you look similar don't you. I wonder if you know the history of that name, little Theo." Max stares at her floating midair, she looks as though she is sitting on an invisible stool. He shakes his head as he regains his senses

"What do you mean history? And call me Max please." Isa switches position, laying with her chest toward the ground and legs out behind her,she props her chin up with her hands below it, her chest is mere feet in front of Max's face prompting another wave of blushing into his cheeks, even though her green crystalline top covers most of her bust. She smiles seeing him blush

"Well Theo, judging by your silver hair I'm guessing that you are related to Vayne Aurelius." Max's blush fades as he thinks about what she said,

"Call me Max I said, and yes Vayne is my father. Did you know him?" she giggles again rolling onto her back her hair hanging below her

"I didn't know him personally Theo, but your father has quite the reputation in the world of mana and alchemy. Your, um, grandfather Theofratus was one of the greatest minds in alchemy years ago, so take his name as an honor. As for your father, from what I heard when he was in school he was able to defeat the strongest beings around, he even fought a power strong enough to warp reality." Max is now listening intently.

"I never knew my dad was that good, what about mom and the others they told me about?" She rubs her chin and thinks about it for a moment, then rolls back over.

"I don't know much about your mother or their friends I'm afraid, about all I know is your mother must have been of the beast-man but that is obvious from looking at you. Knowing your lineage I would offer you a contract if I wasn't already in one." The boy she was with before was trying to remain calm, but with her contract comment he was at his end. He approaches them both and starts yelling

"Isa, come on and leave that beast brat alone!" The glimmer of excitement fades immediately from Isa's eyes, and Max's ears fall back against his head.

"Aww come on Marcus, don't be so rude to Theo. We're just talking here." Isa pleads as Marcus spits at the floor, scowling at Max

"I don't want you talking with this moronic beast, you are under contract to me, and are mine alone mana. Now come with me, it's time to board the train." Marcus grabs Isa's hand and starts toward the train, she looks at Max with a strained smile and a tear in her eye

"Take care Theo, see you later." Max only stares and watches them disappear through the crowd, his face glows red with anger as he clenches his fists. Max now ripe with anger toward Marcus, makes his way back through the crowd trying to find his sister when he hears the whistle blow on the train. "Damn, gotta get on the train quick." Now more frustrated Max heads for the train fast as he can.

Tywyll helps Mimi and Kierta both with their small bags, lifting it above the seats into the overhead compartments. They all fall into their seats when the train starts to move, Kierta falls into the same seat with Tywyll both of them squished into the small space between armrests. Tywyll with a pained look on his face lifts Kierta off of his lap and into the space beside him. He lifts the armrest and speaks with his voice a higher pitch than before

"That really hurt you know." he squeaks, Mimi giggles at the scene before her,

"You guys are cute together." Mimi says to them as Kierta leans her head onto Tywyll's shoulder. Kierta smiles and closes her eyes rubbing her cheek against Tywyll, Mimi's ears perk up listening as she notices Kierta is purring. Mimi giggles again. Tywyll turns his head towards the door as it slams open, making the girls jump. Standing in the doorway is a flustered Max, face still slightly red from before. Max plops himself into the seat next to Mimi, across from Kierta who has gone back to laying against Tywyll. Mimi sensing his tension places her hand on his shoulder

"Whats wrong max?" he winces at hearing her concern, however the anger quickly fades from his face at her touch.

"Nothing to worry about now Mimi, just some idiot on the platform back there." As he speaks he puts emphasis on 'idiot' and turns to look out the window. "wait who are these guys?" Max says as he realizes that Mimi and he aren't alone in the room. Mimi gestures to Kierta, who smiles at Max

"It has been a while Max, you probably don't remember her, she moved away when you were five." Max just shakes his head "I'm sorry but I don't remember you at all Kierta, when I was six I got amnesia, dad told me I hit my head falling from a tree. So its nice to meet you." when max finishes speaking he reaches his hand out and Kierta obliges his offer to shake. Kierta sits back and lets out a laugh, "You must have hit your head pretty hard to forget one of your close friends, you had such a crush on me back then too." Max blushes at Kierta's comment, he opens his mouth to speak but is cut off by Kierta "Just kidding Max, you're so fun to tease. Come to think of it, you haven't changed at all then." Max just blushes more and covers his face with his hands. Kierta leans forward and rubs her hand in his silver hair, Max pushes her away looking at his reflection in the window to see his hair is a mess. Kierta laughs again, "Nice hair Max." He groans at her comment

"its your fault, you know." Max says turning toward Kierta, an

Kierta's purring fades into slow deep breathing as she falls asleep leaning on Tywyll, sliding down into his lap. He slowly, gently, pets her head, as his hand rubs across her striped ears they twitch slightly, She gradually falls asleep in his lap.

Time passes as the train goes onward down the tracks, Mimi is asleep now and snoring softly in the corner seat of the cabin with Norn sitting atop her shoulder, he too is asleep leaning against her head. Max is deep in thought, echoes of Marcus' words flowing through his mind along with the sound of the train moving down the tracks. "moronic beast" "You are mine alone mana" Max getting angrier as the thoughts continue to swirl through his mind, Tywyll notices this and decides to break the silence

"Whats wrong kiddo? I can feel your mood without even looking." Max snaps back to awareness and looks straight at Tywyll

"Its my problem not yours so leave it be." Max replies, scowling as he speaks. Tywyll calmly replies "If you decide to talk let me know." both turn to look out the window, watching the scenery go by in darkness.

"Sorry, Tywyll, but I'm not good at talking things out." Tywyll simply nods at Max's comment and continues to watch outside. They begin to pass through a forest and many trees are the only thing visible from the window, this goes on for quite some time in silence. The first signs of sound, aside from the train, is Kierta yawning as she turns over burying her face into Tywyll's black shirt, deeply inhaling his scent and drifting back to sleep. Max starts yawning himself and passes out like the others, all but Tywyll. The red eyed mana looks down upon the girl in his lap smiling and pets her hair, even asleep she begins to purr softly and her tail, hanging towards the floor begins to wave back and forth. A sudden sound of someone approaching from down the hall stirs the group from their slumber.

Mimi and Max both wake up yawning looking towards the door to the hall of the train car, Kierta however starts growling the moment she stirs. She jumps up at a banging sound coming down the hall and Tywyll goes to investigate. They all peek out the door looking in the direction of the sound and see Marcus banging his fist against the wall with every step he takes Isa following behind him with a worried look on her face

"Please stop this Marcus." he grunts and turns away from her continuing to bang on the walls with a smirk on his face. Sounds of other passengers can be heard as they too are woken from slumber by the boy. When he reaches the room with Max and Mimi inside he pauses

"What is that awful smell," he says sniffing the air around him, coming to a stop looking at the group glaring at him "Ah that's what it was, animals aren't supposed to be in the passenger cars you know." Max's face seems to glow with anger toward Marcus' comment and opens his mouth to speak when he is cut off by Kierta, she starts growling and gets a mere foot from Marcus' face before yelling

"Well then why is a brainless monster like you even on the train."

"What right does a freak of nature like you have to call me a monster, beast." Marcus shouts at Kierta. Tywyll at hearing this fades, his entire body turning black and sinking into the floor beneath him though his shadow remains where he was standing. The shadow quickly moves behind Marcus and in an instant Tywyll was standing there too, his hands on both Marcus' and Isa's shoulders. Marcus spins around in surprise to see what was there and tried to jump away when he realized who it was.

"How the heck did you get there?" he says with panic in his words. Tywyll smiles and laughs at Marcus.

"Come now boy, you insult me. I am a shadow mana, this is what I do. And you, have insulted my friends, and more importantly my contractor." Tywyll gestures at Kierta when he says contractor, now turning to Isa he continues "Sorry for this little one but your master needs a lesson in humility, you can chose to save him if you so wish it." Isa nods in agreement confusing Marcus even further.

"Well you heard him mana, save me." Marcus spouts to Isa in vain.

"Humph, I think you need to learn how to properly address someone, get over your prejudices or they will be your end." she then turns her head away from him, nose up in the air. Max lunges forward and punches Marcus in the gut as Tywyll holds him steady,

"That is for at the station." Max says backing up, Tywyll then addresses the group.

"I'll be back soon." Tywyll smiles and begins to fade into a shadow again but this time Marcus and Isa do the same

"What the hell is happening to me?" Marcus shouts as his legs disappear into the floor. Isa reaches over and slaps him on the face

"This is what you get for being a jerk all the time." the last things to be heard as they disappear are Marcus' whimpering as his brown hair fades into the shadow on the floor.

The shadow moves along the ground at blinding speed carrying the boy and his mana within. Scenery flashes by at a blur to fast to register what anything is until they finally emerge after a mere minute within the darkness. The trio is now standing in a snow covered field many miles away from where the train continues to roll down the track, the field appears to be higher up than they were as Marcus' ears pop from the pressure change. While Marcus looks around dumfounded, Isa lays down in the snow looking up at Tywyll

"Just where are we?" Tywyll laughs and whispers in her ear

"The snowy peak north of the school, but don't tell him that yet." once the shock wears off Marcus realizes that he is standing in the snow with nothing but underwear on.

"Where the heck are my clothes." shivering he tries to keep himself warm. Tywyll gestures to Isa who is holding a stack of neatly folded clothes in her arms.

"Give me those mana." she grips them tighter and puts her nose to the sky

"Not until you learn some manners Marcus." the boy starts to feel angry but that is quickly replaced by the freezing temperatures of the mountain top. Tywyll turns his back to them both

"Isa, I leave things here to you." and with that he fades back into darkness and disappears from sight. Marcus is left with nobody else but Isa to decide his fate.

"Well Marcus, I'm waiting. You know as well as I that being a frost mana I will do far better you in these conditions." Marcus cold and shivering calmly walks over to Isa

"Please Isa, Give me my clothes." he says with teeth chattering from the cold. She looks unimpressed but hands him his clothes anyway. Once dressed he smiles at her and asks

"Now what do we do?" she looks all around her before finally speaking to him

"You do realize that this is the top of a mountain right? We will have to find some shelter for you somewhere." he nods and follows her down the side of the snow covered mountain. They follow what appears to be an animal trail through the wall of white snow falling all around them, finally coming to a cave in the side of a large cliff.

"Lets go in here." Isa says leading Marcus inside. Within the cave there is ice covering all of the walls, large spikes hang from the ceiling and broken pieces of them are strewn across the floor. Refracted colors light up the deep portions of the cave, reflected from the sun outside the main entrance. Once deep inside the cave they stop to rest at an old fire pit remaining from earlier travelers. With help from Isa, Marcus is able too start a small fire with the remains of what was nearby. The fire draws the attention of a nearby cave dweller, a monster known as a snow maiden, her torso and head are like a human girl with a blanket of feathers covering her chest and from her waist to her thighs, she has pale blue hair atop her head and she has large feathery white wings instead of arms. Finally her smooth scaly legs are tipped with large talons at the end of her feet . The snow maiden swoops towards the pair near the fire and lets out a screech, talons at the ready aimed for Marcus head.

Isa hearing the noise of the maidens approach swiftly stands and places her hands in front of her, a blue glow shapes in her hands, solidifying in an instant forming into a spear with a broad head and appearing to be made of the same green crystal as her outfit. Isa blocks the maiden's diving attack before Marcus even realizes what is happening. He turns and witnesses Isa taking relentless attacks, blocking left and right until finally Isa takes a blunt blow to the chest. She falls to the ground gasping, her spear thrown from her hands. The maiden dives straight down talons at the ready, Isa puts her arms in front of her and feels intense pain as the talons tear into her. Marcus' eyes grow dim as he watches the scene unfold before him. He screams Isa's name as he charges forward. Tears in his eyes, he grabs the spear from the ground and spins it above his head brandishing it against the Maiden's attacks. Marcus swings wildly and knocks the Maiden away from Isa who now lies trembling on the cave floor, blood pours from wounds on her arms. Isa looks up at Marcus with fear in her trembling eyes, a tear trickles down her cheek.

"I'm glad you are safe Marcus." she strains to reach her bloody hand toward him.

"Take it easy Isa, I'll protect you now." He picks up her hand and places it on her chest and turns to face the snow maiden She tries to attack past him and hit Isa, Marcus jumps in between them and blocks the blow with the shaft of the spear. The maiden attacks again, this time aiming for Marcus. Blow for blow they trade attacks and blocks until suddenly the once white feathers of her left wing are stained red. She screams as she feels the pain, realizing the spear is planted in the meat of her wing. Marcus swiftly pulls the spear head out of her wing holding it upright next to him. The snow maiden flops to the floor of the cave and whimpers at Marcus. He moves quickly standing over her with spear at the ready. Inches from the final blow, he stops the thrust. "Get out of my sight now if you want to live." she nods at his command and limps away into the distance holding the wound with her right wing, leaving a small trail of blood behind as she goes. Her pained screams can be heard from far into the distance. Marcus rushes over to Isa, who is now in a pool of blood. She smiles at him and reaches up caressing his face.

"Here, we need to stop the bleeding now." Marcus says taking off his outer shirt and tearing it into strips. Marcus helps her sit up and wraps her arms with the fabric, she cringes in pain when he pulls the knot tighter. Tears roll down his face and he pulls her closer, hugging her "I'm so useless, I couldn't protect you." Isa wipes the tears from his face, freezing then in her hand. "Don't worry Marcus, you did save me. I wouldn't be here now if not for you stepping in." he pulls her closer crying even more, tears begin to roll down her face.

"I'm sorry Isa, for everything bad I said to you, please just survive this." He says as he bends down and kisses her forehead. The two hold close to each other, staying warm next to the fire when a deep voice comes echoing through the cave

"Well done, quite impressive defeating one of the snow maidens going solo." A tall man with long red hair appears from just outside the light of the fire. Marcus lays Isa down next to him and reaches for the spear. "Whoa hold it, I'm here to help you guys. I got a tip from a friend of mine that he dumped you guys out here, so I came to bring you in. The names Flay Gunnar."

Back on the train the group has gone back to sleep aside from Kierta. She sits next to the window staring outside watching everything speed by. "What is taking him so long, abilities to move that fast and he still manages to take forever to come back." she punches the seat and lays down trying to go to sleep, eyes closed she feels a familiar hand caressing her ears and jumps up instantly attentive. Tywyll is sitting beside her looking into her eyes

"I'm back now" Tywyll says before receiving a swift hand to the side of his face

"I can see that, what took so long." he rubs his face and smiles at her

"You missed me huh Kierta. I stopped to see an old friend, and inform him of the situation at hand." Kierta just shrugs at his comment and lays down in his lap, snuggling close to him and quickly falls asleep. Tywyll traces the stripes of her ears with his finger as he looks out the window, watching the sun rise in the distance as they continue to head north. The train blows its whistle jarring the entire group from their sleep as it rolls into the station and finally comes to a stop. Max and Mimi both yawn and stretch as they stand, reaching for their bags. Kierta sits up slowly muttering for her annoyance at the abrupt awakening. Tywyll chuckles at this and receives another slap to the face for his troubles. Tywyll grabs Kierta and roughly rubs the hair on her head, avoiding her ears this time. She frees herself and slaps him again "Cut that out, its far to early for this sort of activity."

Max laughs at them both and falls back into his seat landing on his tail. He yelps quickly jumping back up and starts gently rubbing the portion that got pinched. Everyone else starts to laugh at Max's misfortune and he joins in too.

"Its time to get going is it not?" Mimi says reaching for her bag above her. Everyone nods and grabs their own bags aside from Tywyll who also grabs Kierta's. Mimi opens the door to the hall and leads them all out of the room, Tywyll dragging the bags behind him brings up the rear.

At the exit from the train they are greeted by a man in a deep azure uniform with slight gold trim, the man has bright orange hair that clashes with the uniform's color horribly. He smiles and waves at them as they pass, "Watch your step as you exit the car please." Mimi nods and jumps down from the top step landing gracefully on the ground, Norn grasping her hair to keep from falling off. The inside of the station has


End file.
